Small goes for 38, but early deficit sinks #22 Judges at #8 UMass-Dartmouth

Nov 24, 2009

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (taken from a UMass-Dartmouth press
release) -Despite a career-high 38 points from senior guard
Kenny Small (Stratford, Conn./Stratford), matching
the highest single-game total by a Brandeis player in head coach
Brian Meehan's seven-year tenure, the 22nd-ranked Judges were
unable overcome a large early deficit, falling to eighth-ranked
UMass-Dartmouth, 92-82.

The Corsairs, who built a 35-11 lead with 8:17 left in the first
half before the Judges rallied to cut it to 43-40 with 49 seconds
remaining, sandwiched three-pointers by junior forward Brandon
Stephens (Dorchester, Mass./Newton North) and senior forward
Brandon Shelton (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin)
around a pair of free throws by Small to take a 49-42 lead at
halftime.

UMass Dartmouth got a three-pointer from senior forward Matt
Walker (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) and another trey and a layup from
senior guard Jeff Macchi (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) to take a 57-42
lead at the start of the second half. Another three-pointer by
Walker made it 68-55 with 11:18 left, before Brandeis scored the
next 10 points. A pair of layups by senior forward Terrell
Hollins (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) made it 68-65 with
8:08 to play.

Shelton led the Corsairs with 22 points; Stephens added 21, Walker
had 17 and sophomore center Lance Greene (Dorchester,
Mass./Charlestown) contributed 10. Small led all scorers with 36
points, while Hollins and senior guard Andre Roberson (Springfield,
Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) each had 10. Shelton grabbed 11
rebounds, and Roberson had six, but Brandeis out-rebounded UMD,
31-29. The Corsairs committed 24 turnovers, but made 56.6 per cent
of their shots from the field to 46.6 per cent for the Judges. UMD
was 13-of-25 from three-point range to the Judges’
four-of-15.

The Corsairs improved to 3-1 with the victory, while the Judges
dropped to 2-1 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to
action when they host Bridgewater State December 2nd. Brandeis will
host Vassar Sunday.